The Knitting Fiend

I showed off my halter at Knitche! Kathy oohed and ahhed; then she suggested I now need a cardigan.

Of course, she’s right. That means I need to explore the whole buttonhole issue.

I’ve made buttonholes before. But, I’m dissatisfied with the three row buttonholes in Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Knitting Without Tears.

So, I kept looking, found instructions for one row buttonholes buried in Barbara Walkers “Second Treasury of Knitting” .
and thought I’d give them a try. I decided to test them in seed stitch, garter stitch and stockinette.

I cast on in yellow, and worked the buttonholes on a right side row . That’s kinda-sort-ok. The bind off rolls to the right side. If you look closely at the lower buttonhole in the stockinette portion of the swatch, you just might be able to see the “lip” formed my the chain stitches of that bind off. It’s not tremendously noticable, but a knitter would notice it.

I changed to white yarn, knit a few rows and and worked the button holes from the wrong side. This looks better. The bind off rolls to the wrong side, and the button holes edges look good from the side of the garment people will see. I’d be much happier about my work that way.

So, work these on wrong side row. Ok?

Here are my instructions are for working the 4 stitch wide buttonholes. I expanded a bit from Walker’s discussion, and I took photos. You can easily adapt the buttonholes by increasing or decreasing the number of stitches bound off in step 3 and cast on in step 5.

1. Work in pattern stitch up to first stitch of buttonhole.
2. If yarn is not in front, bring it to front. Slip next stitch from left needle to right. Bring yarn to back, and drop it there; Notice the yarn wrapped around the slipped stitch in the picture to the top right.
3. **Slip a stitch from the left needle to the right needle. Insert left tip into the second stitch on the right hand needle and pass it over the first stitch. (This binds off a stitch.) ** Repeat until you have bound off 4 stitches. There will be a big gap where you bound off the stitches as illustrated in the photo to the right and second from the top.
4. Slip the last bound off stitch from the right needle to the left needle. Turn work.
5. Pick up the hanging yarn, which is now in the front. Pass it between the needles to the back. Cast on 5 stitches using cable cast on as follows: **Insert tip of right needle bewteen the first two stitches on the left needle, as illustrated directly to the right; yarn over and knit a stitch. Slip stitch just created onto left needle. **
6. Slip final cast on stitch back onto right needle. Bring yarn forward between tips; slip stitch on right needle back to left needle. Turn work.
7. Slip first stitch on left hand needle onto right hand needle. Insert left tip into the extra cast on stitch on right needle, as illustrated bottom right. Pass the stitch over to bind off. This seals the final edge preventing a gap. Slip stitch on right tip back to the left needle. Buttonhole finished!
8. Work in pattern to the end of the row.

I worked a whole bunch. Now I’m a pro, right?